DISCUSSION FORUM AND TOPIC RESTRICTIONS. As an instructor, you can restrict access to forums and topics in four ways:

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1 DISCUSSION FORUM AND TOPIC RESTRICTIONS As an instructor, you can restrict access to forums and topics in four ways: Hiding a discussion forum or topic Locking a discussion forum or topic (creating a read only ) view Setting release conditions for a discussion forum or topic Setting group and section restrictions for a discussion forum or topic HIDING A DISCUSSION FORUM OR TOPIC Hidden topics do not display on the Discussions List page, except to students with permission to see hidden forums and topics or to manage discussions. By hiding topics, you can control which topics students can access at different times throughout the course. For example, you can create weekly discussion topics for students to reflect on the material covered in each week of the course and make each topic available for one week only. You can specify start and end dates for when a forum or topic is visible so you can set up visibility ahead of time to match your course s calendar. Tip: Instead of scheduling a topic to disappear as soon as you want the discussion to end, consider locking the topic at that point and keeping it visible for another few days. This allows students to review the discussion after it closes so that they don t miss the last posts added. 1. On the Discussions List page, click Edit from the drop-down menu of the forum or topic you want to hide. You can also set visibility options when creating a new forum or topic. 2. In the Availability section of the Properties tab, select the options you want: o To hide the forum or topic immediately, select Hide this forum or Hide this topic. The forum or topic remains hidden until you select Forum is always visible or Topic is always visible again. o To hide the forum or topic until a certain date or after a certain date, select Forum is visible for a specific date range or Topic is visible for a specific date range, then select Has Start Date or Has End Date to specify the dates. 3. Click Save or Save and Close. LOCKING A DISCUSSION FORUM OR TOPIC Locking a topic prevents students from creating new posts or modifying existing posts, essentially making the conversation read only. Students can still view the forum or topic. Locking a topic is an effective way of closing a conversation while allowing students to refer back to posts. You can specify start and end dates for when a forum or topic unlocks so you can set things up ahead of time to match your course s calendar. Tip: Consider locking a topic to end a conversation, then using a pinned summary post inside the topic. This way when students access the topic, your summary appears at the top.

2 1. On the Discussions List page, click Edit from the drop-down menu of the forum or topic you want to hide. You can also set visibility options when creating a new forum or topic. 2. In the Locking Options section of the Properties tab, select the options you want: o To lock the forum or topic immediately, select Lock forum or Lock topic. The forum or topic remains locked until you select Unlock forum or Unlock topic again. o To open the forum or topic within a date range, select Unlock forum for a specific date range or Unlock topic for a specific date range, then select Has Start Date or Has End Date to specify the dates. 3. Click Save or Save and Close. SETTING RELEASE CONDITIONS FOR A DISCUSSION FORUM OR TOPIC Release conditions enable you to specify requirements that students must satisfy before they can access a discussion forum or topic. For example, you can require that students view a content topic or submit an assignment to a dropbox folder before accessing a discussion topic. Or, you might create a forum or topic for specific groups. Add release conditions to a forum or topic 1. On the Discussions List page, click Edit from the drop-down menu of the forum or topic you want to create release conditions for. You can also set release conditions when creating a new forum or topic. 2. In the Release Conditions section of the Restrictions tab, do one of the following: o If you have already created a release condition elsewhere and want to attach it to this forum or topic, click Attach Existing. Select the conditions you want to add, then click Attach. For example, release conditions include completing a dropbox submission, scoring a specified grade in a particular quiz, completing a survey, or being enrolled in a particular section. o If you want to add a new release condition that does not already exist, click Create and Attach. Enter the details for the new release condition, then click Create.

3 3. Choose whether All of the following conditions or Any of the following conditions must be met in order for students to access the forum or topic in the drop-down list above the listed conditions. 4. Click Save. Remove release conditions from a forum or topic 1. On the Discussions List page, click Edit from the drop-down menu of the forum or topic you want to remove release conditions from. 2. In the Release Conditions section of the Restrictions tab, do one of the following: o Click the Remove icon beside each condition you want to remove. o To remove all conditions, click Remove All Conditions. 3. Click Save.

4 SETTING GROUP AND SECTION RESTRICTIONS FOR A FORUM OR TOPIC You can restrict a forum or topic so that it is only accessible to members of a specific group or section. This enables you to: Create discussion areas where members of a group or section can collaborate on assignments or discuss course material in small teams. Create separate forums or topics for each group or section in a course offering. Note: You must create groups or sections before you can set group or section restrictions. Restrict a single forum or topic 1. Do one of the following: o On the Discussions List page, click Edit from the drop-down menu of the forum or topic you want to hide. You can also set visibility options when creating a new forum or topic. o If you are creating a new forum or topic, you can create group and section restrictions after clicking Save. 2. In the Group and Sections Restrictions area of the Restrictions tab, select the Restrict this forum to the following groups and sections or Restrict this topic to the following groups and sections check box. 3. Click Add Groups and Sections. 4. In the Add Groups and Sections window, select a Group or Section Category from the dropdown list. 5. Click Add. 6. Click Save. To remove a group or section s access, click the Save. Remove icon beside the group or section, then click To open the forum or topic to everyone again, clear the Restrict this forum to the following groups and sections check box or Restrict this topic to the following groups and sections check box, then click Save. Restrict multiple forums or topic simultaneously 1. On the Discussions List page, click Restrictions from the tool navigation. 2. Select a Group or Section Category from the drop-down list. 3. Select the Forum containing the topics you want to restrict or select All Forums from the dropdown list. 4. To restrict a forum or topic to specific groups or sections, select the check box in the Restricted column, then select the groups or sections you want to have access to the forum or topic. 5. Click Save. To open a forum or topic to everyone, clear the check box in the Restricted column and click Save.

5 Automatically create restricted discussion topics for groups or sections You can automatically create a discussion topic for each group in a selected category. Topics get their names from the group categories and groups they associate with. 1. On the Discussions List page, click Restrictions from the tool navigation. 2. Click the Automatically create restricted topics link. 3. Select a Group or Section Category from the drop-down list. 4. Select where to create the topics from the Forum drop-down list. If you want to create a new forum for the restricted topics, click New Forum. 5. Click Create.

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